Breathe
by astarte-lydianna
Summary: While on a out of office job for the ministry of magic, Hermione finds herself stranded on a deserted island with no wand. Can she and Neville survive or escape with only wandless magic to aid them?
1. Chapter 1

All she could think was that it was loud. So loud. Stepping out into the main ministry entrance they were surrounded by aurors, reporters and the general magical public that had managed to get in.

Harry held her hand tightly as he navigated them through the crowds. So crowded and so loud. She glanced back to see if he was behind her, she could just about see him but Harry didn't slow his pace. He kept tugging her through the throngs of people, giving her no further chances to look back.

Five weeks earlier

Something was wrong. She knew before she even opened her eyes. She was damp all over and everything hurt. Suddenly, she couldn't breathe and her eyes flew open as she started to choke. Everything burned; no matter how many times she tried, she couldn't seem to breathe properly as water bubbled its way out of her mouth. Just as she began to panic, breathing began to get a bit easier. With every deep breath it burnt her throat but at least she could now breathe. Glancing around her with her eyes stinging, she took in the beach and the rock face in front of her and then the water behind her.

' _Oh God...Neville...Theo...Olivia...'_

She looked around frantically and gasped around in her sleeve for her wand. Nothing. Her wand was gone. She got to her feet quickly and looked out towards the water. There were a few bits of debris that she could see on the sand and in the water but nothing large. She saw a few books that had been in her bag.

' _The extension charm must have failed...'_

She picked them up out of the water. They were drenched but she may as well rescue them and move them to a sunny spot to dry. It was ironic that in the one time she would have been grateful for nearly anything in her bag that wasn't her books, it was books that Hermione Granger found. Clothes or the tent or food, medical supplies; even cutlery or a cup would've been more useful than books right now.

She couldn't see virtually anything up on the rockface; so she decided to check the beach first for anything useful and signs of life, before trying to find a way up the cliffs to get a better look around. Gathering anything near to her that could be useful first would be a good start. After all, if she washed up here there was a good chance that other debris and maybe other people were here also. Besides, climbing the rocks directly could be dangerous and without her wand or any potions, getting injured could be catastrophic. Perhaps she could walk her way around the beach to the other side of it though.

About halfway down the beach she spotted two large objects in the water. She ran towards them and into the water. The first object was part of the tent. Unfortunately, that meant that it was no longer magical, it was simply a piece of material, not even functional as a normal muggle tent. She gathered it into her arms and dragged it onto the beach, before heading to the second object.

She stopped before getting too close this time. It was obvious from this distance that it wasn't an object, it was a person.

Hermione stood still for a moment before forcing herself to move closer. They were dead. She knew that but she needed to check to be sure, she needed to know who and she couldn't really let them just drift about at sea... They deserved better than that. Near anyone deserved better than that.

As she reached the body she held back a sob, telling herself it wasn't the first friend that she had seen dead. Olivia. Olivia had been her first friend at work. Hermione and Olivia worked in the curses research department. They had started the same day and worked together for three years...she was one of her best friends...

There was no breathing, no heartbeat, no pulse. Her skin was a horrid greyish colour and cold. She couldn't bare to touch it more than necessary, instead clutching the witches cloak and towing her towards the shore. She tugged her all the way to the rockface, ignoring the sudden weight once they were no longer in the water, before covering her body with the piece of tent for now.

Standing shakily she carried on down the beach. She paused to throw up suddenly. Her friend was dead. God only knows whether Neville and Theo were alive or dead. The fact that they weren't here wasn't exactly encouraging news given the situation.

Their small group had been tracking and researching a number of murders committed using a strange unknown curse. Neville and Theo were the two aurors escorting Hermione and Olivia into the field to follow a lead in their research. A freak storm had hit out of nowhere and torn the boat that they were travelling on apart. She didn't actually remember much after the boat shaking and her being thrown into the water.

She found nothing along the rest of the beach, except a way up the cliffs. The rocks at this end started lower and built up to the tall rockface the other side. She supposed that she should just consider herself lucky to still have all her clothes and shoes attached at this point. Not that she didn't really wish for her wand but climbing the rocks without her shoes certainly wouldn't have been pleasant.

She removed her cloak to make climbing easier, glad that she was in muggle clothing rather than her office work robes. She left her cloak under a heavy rock, so that it wouldn't blow away and continued her scramble upwards.

At the top of the cliffs, she found that the island wasn't that large. The side that she started on was pretty much a line of rock and sand, on the others side of the rocks further down there was more island. It held a small hill of yellow looking glass and further down a thick patch of trees, as well as more sand. It didn't look like a large enough island for many mammals to inhabit and the was certainly no signs of people, or even signs that there had ever been people here.

' _Don't panic Hermione.'_ She told herself shakily. _'Use your brain. Think.'_

She had magic, the wandless kind anyway. That meant she was able to start a fire and probably produce some suitable water for drinking if she couldn't find any fresh. She could make light and pull off basic stunners and shields but it was all basic magic...she certainly couldn't transfigure a shelter or boat or conjure a patronus without her wand. Still, she wasn't dead and with magic she had some hope of staying that way.

The sun was low in the sky, she probably had only a handful of hours left of light. The most immediate issues were water, shelter and food. She could go a couple of days, maybe a week or so without food if she absolutely had to but water was essential. She didn't know much about actual survival but she knew that much. She needed something to use as a cup...

Deciding the most sheltered place from the weather was further down the island amongst the trees but that the best chance for other debris was the side of the island she washed up on, she headed back down again, collecting her cloak as she went.

She studiously avoided looking at the tent material as she passed it. There was time to think about that tomorrow. By the time she reached the point where she originally landed, the sun was starting to set. She found a spot on the rocks that seemed fairly sheltered for this side of the island and sat down, with her fortunately now dry cloak wrapped around her. She should stay this side for at least tonight, if she was lucky someone might come looking for them and spot her. If she was really lucky her wand might wash up here too. She had gathered a few tiny pieces of dried seaweed, glass, leaves and wood from the beach on her way here. There were no big pieces that would burn for a long time but it would have to do.

"Incendio." She murmured, forcing her magic though her hands to the small pile. She sighed in relief at the wave of heat now burning in front of her. She glanced at the books she had rescued earlier and cringed. She hated the thought but she was more than likely going to end up burning them.

She tried to use wandless magic to transfigure a flat rock into a bowl like shape but it did nothing more than heat up in her hands. She sighed and got into a position with her face close to the rock before conjuring water. The water obviously ran straight off of the flat rock and away but she managed to get a good few mouthfuls before it trailed off altogether.

A small sob escaped her lips as she huddled into her cloak again.

Hermione woke with an ache in her neck and back. She had fallen asleep slouched against a large rock, curled up into a ball. It was very bright this morning. The air already felt a bit warm, although she herself felt cold. She sighed and sat up to look around. It was then that she saw a large shape in the water.

Hermione felt her heart clench.

' _Please don't be another body...please.._.' She thought desperately. Her heart sank as she moved towards the water. It looked like some debris and amongst it...definitely a body.

"Why?!" She cried out in frustration. She sobbed and frantically scrubbed at her eyes, telling herself to get a grip, even though she just wanted to sink into the sand and stay there.

She didn't notice the body move.

A noise. A loud noise. He winced and opened his eyes. He remembered being in the water. The events of the day before came back to him and he remembered where he was. Floating on a part of the boat with a life support float around him. He looked around for the noise.

His eyes widened in relief at seeing land so close. He hadn't seen a thing yesterday but debris. Worst of all being that he didn't know where the others were. His heart leapt for joy as he saw a figure knelt on the beach.

"Hello!" He shouted, his voice cracked so he tried again. "Hey! Hello!"

He saw the figure move, looking up suddenly and getting to their feet.

By the time they ran into the water, he could see a female figure clad in muggle jeans with messy hair.

"Hermione!" He shouted.

"Neville!" He leapt off the boat panel he was sprawled on and into the water. His legs went like jelly under him and he went under for a moment, before he managed to make his limbs work. He swam shakily towards her, wading once he could touch the bottom.

He felt her impact his body, they both went into the water off of their feet at the force of it.

He hugged her back tightly, for once not embarrassed in the slightest at the sign of affection. He had thought he was alone out there. All night he had wondered how long he could even survive floating around in the water. He had feared the others were dead. Seeing Hermione was like a gift from heaven right about now.

"Thank Merlin you're alright." He said, not even lightening his grip. He felt her sobbing against him as he tried to veer her back towards the shore.

"Oh God...Olivia, Neville...Olivia's dead." She cried. "I thought I was the only one that made it. I've been here alone all night!"

They made it to the sand where they both practically collapsed. The sand felt warm and welcoming after being in the cool water all night.

"Theo?" Neville asked.

"Haven't seen anything." She replied. "She's up there...I'll need to move her or bury her or something before the heat..." She cut herself off and covered her mouth with her hand as she felt sick again. Neville rubbed her back and looked around.

"We'll sort it." He nodded. "Don't suppose you've got your wand?"

"No." She shook her head.

"Yeah, I gathered as much...wishful thinking though." He nodded. "Any supplies?"

"Nothing yet. There's part of my tent covering the body, I have my cloak and a book...I burnt one last night to keep warm." She replied. "I should get that debris and we should check all around the beach again for anything else useful."

"I'll do it." Neville said, getting to his feet.

"You've been in the water all night, have you even had any fresh water?" She asked. He shook his head. "Right, well give me the float then. I'm going to see if I can just walk out as far as I can, then summon them to me."

She did just that. Standing as close as she could get to it, while still touching the seabed; she held out her hand and trust her magic at the items.

"Accio."

Neville moved to walk a little way into the water also; he took the items from her piece by piece, placing them on the sand.

"Looks like a portion of the cabin, a cushion...plastic sheet from something..." Hermione mused. "No wands, no rope...no food. An empty water bottle and a bowl...a hat. The bottle and bowl will be useful for water at least. Right, we need to build a signal fire or something."

"We haven't got any wands." He sighed.

"No but I can perform a wandless incendio. Although for everything else we'll probably be doing this mostly the muggle way." She nodded.

"Do you know how to do that?" he asked. She bent over and rinsed out the water bottle and bowl as best she could with sea water, before they gathered everything in their arms and dragged it right up to the cliffs.

"Sort of. I'm not an expert but I've read about survival stories, and I studied up a bit on the subject before the year Harry, Ron and I spent in a tent. That was different of course…I knew that we were going to have to be on the run at some point and so I was able to prepare…gather supplies." She sighed, and wandlessly filled the water bottle and bowl with water for them to drink. "Don't drink it too fast, you'll make yourself sick."

"Thanks." He nodded.

"Basically the most important thing is, find fresh water; unlike muggles I can do that bit with magic, although a source of fresh water would be a good idea still in case my magic fails later." She explained. "Find shelter, food, assess any nearby dangers and gather any supplies that may be useful as well as building a signal to aid rescue are all important too."

"I can't do wandless magic." Neville admitted, handing her back the water bottle.

"It's hard, I'm not good at it." She replied, taking a few sips herself before putting it down. "I've got the skill and the technique…but I'm just not that powerful. Don't get me wrong, I can hold my own but raw power helps a lot with wandless magic. You should see Harry with wandless magic. You're magic is more powerful than mine…if you could get control of it, you'd be able to pull off more powerful wandless magic than I can."

"What makes you think my magic is more powerful?" he frowned.

"I've seen your stunners." She smiled. "Honestly Neville, it's there. You could be a really powerful wizard, you've just never been that comfortable learning things."

"Do you think maybe...could you teach me?" he asked.

"Maybe, once we've got the essentials sorted…certainly couldn't hurt to try. It'd certainly be useful if we could both do magic." She nodded.

"So a signal?" he asked.

"Yes, muggles use either smoke signals, fires, S.O.S. signs or flare guns…obviously we don't have a flare gun." She sighed. "Still, there's a beach both sides of the island and I'm thinking we should have a sign on each side. Maybe build a signal fire at some point later if we need to."

"Alright, you can get started on that, I'm going to go down the beach." He said stiffly.

"Neville…no…I can-"

"No. Hermione, you know what you're doing with the signals and signs and stuff. I will do this." He told her firmly. She nodded sadly.

It was strange watching him walk away from her. Part of her wanted to go with him, nothing to do with the task at hand…simply because she didn't want to be alone. She had been so afraid yesterday.

She looked up at the sky, it was still morning…they needed some form of shelter; so she decided that they would start working on that no later than midday. It was odd not knowing the exact time and just guessing by roughly where the sun was in the sky, but she didn't _need_ to know the exact time. Casting any sort of tempus charm was wasting magic that could be used on water, which they did need.

Not wanting to run out of rocks, she decided to draw a reasonably sized but not huge sign in the sand before she began. She didn't want to end up with a massive 'S' and nothing else. She stopped a couple of times for water and took off her jumper by, what she made to be, around midmorning.

When she finally finished, she headed back their temporary base to sit and have a drink of water before going to find Neville. The sign wasn't as big as it could be but it would still be visible from pretty high up. It was better than no sign at any rate and she could always make it bigger later. She didn't know how long they had been working but the morning probably was over now and it was quite warm, the sun was nearly straight over them. Neville made his way towards her not long after she sat down; he brought with him a long handled mop and a sail or at least part of a sail.

She took in his grim appearance and handed him the water bottle. He nodded his thanks and took a seat next to her. They stayed silent for a while, before her stomach growled loudly.

"What now?" he asked.

"Well…there's not much we can do here. We need to find some shelter and hopefully some food." She told him. "We should go explore the other side of the island and find a good spot for shelter, now that we have a help sign set up this side."

"Right." He nodded, standing and offering his hand to tug her to her feet. "Are we taking all this?"

"I think that'd be best. We can use that sheet you've go there to put everything on and carry it all at once between us." She suggested, taking the sail from him and spreading it out of the ground.

"Like a stretcher." He nodded. He lifted the large panel and placed that on the sheet first, before they began putting everything else on top of it. Carefully, they lifted the sheet from each side and began their way down the beach.

Hermione slowed as they passed a patch of disturbed sand, a pile of rocks at one end…the grave Neville had made for Olivia. It was terrifying. Her friend was dead. She had died at sea, probably by drowning and been washed up on a deserted island like she was no more than driftwood and debris. Buried in a crudely made grave…with none of her family around to say goodbye. They would have to dig her back up and take her home with them…she couldn't leave her here. Olivia's family deserved to hold a proper service for her. If they ever made it off this island and got home of course.

"They'll find us 'Mione." Neville's voice said softly, as if sensing her thoughts. "When we don't contact the office for check in, they'll start looking."

"What's the protocol for check in times?" she asked him.

"For this case, it was three days." He told her. "When we don't check in tomorrow morning, they will try to contact us for a full twenty four hours. If after twenty four hours they are unsuccessful then they will use a tracking charm. As auror's a vial of blood was taken from each of us upon sign up, to use for a strong tracking charm if needed. Less than forty-eight hours Hermione and they'll be on their way…and that's assuming they don't already know that something has gone wrong."

"Right, you're right." She agreed. "We'll be fine."

"Exactly, no more than a week sat on a beach in the sun." he agreed.

"A week. We can do that." She nodded. "As long as we continue to have access to clean water and can make some sort of reasonable shelter we can last a week."

"That's the spirit." He said, as they carefully climbed over a lower part of the cliffs with their cargo, in an attempt to reach the wooded area of the island.

"Yeah, studies have shown that a reasonably healthy human can last for up to two months without food as long as they have water. So as long as my magic holds out we'll be fine." She sighed in relief.

Her relief was short lived, when Neville began to look more and more pale as the day wore on. They hadn't found food but had found a small pool of fresh water. She determined that it was where the rain water ran down the rocks and the rocks were damp but there was currently no water running down them, the pool was at the bottom of them in a shady patch, which prevented it from evaporating. It seemed pretty fresh because it was still relatively clean, possibly even from the storm yesterday. Not far from the pool of water was a small clearing in the trees that she decided would be a good spot to try and make some sort of camp. It seemed pretty sheltered, since it was fairly close to the backs of the cliffs. It was a start at least.

They made something of a makeshift, sloped tent out of the sheet of plastic by firstly tying it, somewhat dubiously, using some long leaves to tree branches and then impaling the two bottom corners into the ground. They could work on building some sides to it later. Next they made their way out to the other beach, to dry what they could in the sun.

Neville sat on the sand looking ready to collapse and let out a horrid cough. Being in the water all night must have made him ill.

"You should go to sleep." She told him. "The sand is nice and warm…if we lay my cloak down you can lie down and get some rest…you can't have slept well last night."

"No, I'll help with the rocks." He said, gesturing to where she had begun the second 'S.O.S.' sign on the beach.

"No, you can help later. Neville if you get worse you won't be able to help at all. I'll feel much better knowing you're sleeping peacefully and getting better, than having you work hard today only to collapse with the flu tomorrow." She told him.

"Right." He conceded. "Just for a bit then." She spread out her cloak on the ground next to him and gestured for him to lie down.

"I'm just going to work on the sign this side for a bit." She told him, standing and leaving him to rest. Before starting on the rocks she took a much need toilet break in the trees. She had needed to urinate for a couple of hours but had been too embarrassed to go with Neville around. It was silly since she had had the same problem with Harry and Ron when they were in the tent. Well, not exactly...at least they had had wands for privacy charms and such. She dreaded what would happen when it came to the other toilet issue...but since she hadn't eaten yet she would worry about that later.

She worked on the 'S.O.S.' Sign for a while, before her stomach rumbled loudly again. They hadn't found any food. She hadn't seen any animals save a few birds and she hadn't seen any berries or fruit...not that she really expected to find a nice banana tree but it certainly would've been convenient.

She headed back to where Neville snoozed peacefully and sat to have a drink of water. Her best bet for food was probably fish or shrimps or something. She wasn't an expert on seafood as she had never really cared for it but right now a cooked fish sounded like heaven. They didn't have a net or fishing line...and she wasn't hopeful enough to think she could spear one with a stick or catch one bare handed...perhaps she could stun one?

Getting up she made her way towards the water. She paused at the edge and decided that she didn't really want to get her jeans wet again. She glanced back at Neville, he was still sleeping soundly, so she slid her jeans off and her shoes and socks, before putting her shoes back on. It may take time for her shoes to dry but better wet feet than injured feet from sharp rocks or worse.

The water was warmer now, she waded in a little way but couldn't really see any fish close by. Deciding on a different approach, she climbed back out of the water and climbed onto some rocks and carefully walked along them. She finally spotted a few fish but they didn't really look close enough to hit. Worth a try though. Concentrating she fired two small stunners in their direction. Both missed and the fish were gone. She sighed in defeat. No fish then.

Heading back along the rocks to the sandy part of the beach she finally had some luck in the form of a large crab. It didn't run from her as she came closer, firing a stunner at it she rejoiced as it found its mark. She was pretty squeamish about crabs actually and cringed as she carefully lifted it up by its shell. Still, pick it up she did because it was still food.

She made her way back through the trees with it to their camp and the fire pit she had made earlier with rocks.

' _Right…now how to cook the thing…'_ She mused. ' _Fire first, worst case scenario I char the thing and it's like eating over done barbeque food.'_

She used some of the wood that she had gathered earlier, while making their camp and lit the fire. Looking around, she used a stick to impale the crab and held it over the flames. ' _Great…now I'm stuck holding it…'_ She frowned and wondered how people on those nature shows made those things that stood over the fire out of sticks without those sticks just catching fire.

She frowned and stood up, moving the stick away from the fire and just impaling it into the ground nearby for a moment. Maybe Neville would have some ideas, she had better wake him anyway.

She pulled her jeans back on and quickly moved back through the trees to where Neville still slept. Kneeling down she nudged him slightly.

"Neville." She said softly.

"Mmmm?" he mumbled.

"I've found something to eat, and you need to drink some more water." She told him.

"Right." He agreed. She helped him, sleepily get to his feet and picked up the cloak from the ground, before leading the way back to the fire.

"I haven't figured out the best way to cook it yet…I figured we're just going to have to hold it in the fire." She admitted.

"You got a fire going? That's great." He said, crouching down by it. "Here, let me?" He held his hand out and she passed him the stick with the crab hanging from it.

"I tried to stun some fish but…no luck." She shrugged. "Shame, I'd have much preferred fish. Just the thought of pulling apart that thing is giving my shudders."

"I'll do it." He offered with a smile. "I'll pull it apart enough that you don't have to think of it as a crab anymore."

"Thanks, that'd be amazing." She smiled back. "It's not that I don't want to eat something that still looks like an animal or anything…it's just crabs in particular and lobsters…that kind of thing. They look so much like insects, they just scare me a bit."

"Nice to know there is something that the great Hermione Granger is afraid of." He chuckled.

"There's lots of things that I'm afraid of." She replied quietly. The playful tone of conversation vanished instantly. "This whole situation is like something from a nightmare…or some dramatic movie."

"We'll be fine, remember? A week on a beach." He reminded her. She nodded, trying to banish the sad thoughts from her mind.

"We still don't know where Theo is…or the crew." she pointed out.

"I know." He sighed. There had been the two crew members running the boat that they were on, as well as the four of them. "I…" He had wanted to say 'I'm sure they're fine' but it had been over twenty four hours since they had been thrown into the water. He was in the water overnight and he wasn't feeling great…how long could anyone really last in the water? It wasn't like they had seen any other land around…not that that meant much since he hadn't even seen this island last night, when he was drifting on that panel of wood in the ocean. "Come here."

She got up and came to sit next to him and dropped her head against his shoulder. That was how they stayed, sitting in silence watching the flames flickering around their dinner.

"That actually smells pretty good." She said a while later.

"How about you grab me that bowl and I'll start pulling it apart?" he asked her. She nodded and went to grab the bowl for him.

"We should make sure to leave the leftovers further away from the camp though…they could get pretty gross and smelly in a few days." She mused.

"That's alright, I'll go do it by the water and toss them into the ocean." He told her.

"Good idea." She agreed. He headed off towards the beach and she looked around their makeshift camp. They could do with the sail as a groundsheet to lay on overnight.

She headed towards the beach after him to gather the items that they had left in the sun to dry. She paused and looked towards the water, where Neville knelt on the ground, hunched over the bowl with the crab in it. The sun was getting low now and the temperature would drop soon. She gathered the items and glanced back at Neville one last time, before taking them back to the camp.

By the time Neville came back, the camp looked a little better, or at least it was more than a fire pit and a piece of plastic stuck between two trees.

"Hey, I found your bag. Nothing in it I'm afraid, but I also found some more wood that I left on the beach to dry out and…this." He said as he approached.

"You found proper string!" Hermione exclaimed. "That's brilliant!" She took her bag from him and hung it on a branch to dry out, the charm had definitely failed but still it would do for gathering things in. With proper string they could secure the plastic sheet to the trees better.

"Come, eat." He gestured to the bowl. She went and sat with him and they picked at the bits of crab meat from the bowl. It was good, it felt amazing to eat. It was a shame that she still felt starving afterwards.

"We'll have to do better tomorrow." She commented.

"I don't know, making our own rescue signs, building something that resembles shelter and killing and cooking our own dinner isn't bad considering we have no wands and no tools." He replied, nudging her side. "You did good Hermione, I'd have been clueless without you here."

"And I'd have been very lonely without you here." She replied, leaning into his side.


	2. Chapter 2

Neville felt a breeze against his back and shivered. He groaned in discomfort at the hard ground below him and leant closer to the warmth in front of him. He tensed suddenly. Blinking and opening his eyes, he realised that it was Hermione sleeping against him. He flushed in embarrassment and quickly moved his arm from around her waist.

He looked up at the light coming through the trees and sighed as the reality of their situation sank in again.

 _'Still, beats yesterday morning's wake up.'_ He thought, sitting up. He looked at the woman sleeping next to him for a moment, before getting up and making his way into the trees for a moment of privacy.

After that he went back to check on the sleeping witch, before heading towards the beach. He stripped down to his boxers quickly and headed into the water to wash.

As he bent down and splashed water through his hair, he spotted not one but several crabs crawling along under the water around his feet. He quickly darted his hand in to grab one and then a second one. Clearly crabs didn't move as fast as fish. He smiled in triumph and walked back up the beach to find a way to contain them.

He decided his best bet was to store them alive rather than kill them and risk them going off in the heat, after all he might need to save them for tomorrow if he found enough of them. Reaching for his shirt he tied the sleeves in a knot so that they couldn't escape out to the sleeves and then used some of the of the longer leaves on the trees to tie the bottom of the shirt into a knot. This only left the neck hole open. He headed back to the water and soaked the shirt in the water, before placing both crabs into it through the neck hole. Deciding to try his luck, he put the shirt down and placed a largish rock over the neck hole to hold it closed. He then waded back into the water and looked around for more crabs. Seeing none in the water he came out and tugged his trousers and shoes back on to climb across the rocks.

Hermione rolled onto her back and stretched out her arms. It seemed very bright. She opened her eyes and sat bolt upright for a moment, wondering where she was, before remembering exactly where she was. She sighed and glanced around. She couldn't see Neville anywhere. Her heart pounded in her chest and she got up and glanced around.

She stopped by the fire pit. On the ground scraped into the dirt was a single word that had her breathing a sigh of relief. 'Beach'.

She smiled to herself, it was a very Neville thing to do, to leave her a note in the dirt knowing that she would worry.

She quickly took advantage of a few moments privacy, before heading to the beach to find him.

She couldn't help but stare for a moment. Who wouldn't? It had been nearly six months since she'd seen a man without a shirt on. It was definitely a different light to see Neville in, that's for sure.

Neville the auror was a far cry from the Neville she first met at Hogwarts. Over the years he had shot up in height and from fifth year onwards his confidence grew in leaps and bounds, until he had helped run a student rebellion and face Death Eaters. He was still a little shy at times but from what she saw of him at work, he was a lot more confident in himself these days. Still…every day auror Neville was different to seeing a wet, shirtless Neville clambering on rocks and catching crabs barehanded.

She shook her head to get the errant thoughts to dispel, before heading down the beach towards him. Now was really not the time to be getting distracted.

"Crab for breakfast?" she greeted him.

"And lunch and dinner I expect." He grinned, gesturing to his shirt on the ground. She noted the moving lumps inside it and shuddered. "They'll be fresh if we keep them alive in there, somewhere out of the sun o'course. I've got about five including this fella, so we can just cook a couple at a time. Reckon we'll be bored of crab meat before the day is out though."

"Maybe I could try stunning fish again." She suggested. "There's bound to be some plants we can eat…maybe some berries but I haven't seen any fruit trees…"

"What about stunning a bird? Or finding some eggs in a nest?" he asked.

"Maybe, I'm not sure I want to risk cooking an egg and finding a baby chick in it…but we might have luck stunning a bird. Let's not get ahead of ourselves though, we've got crab and that's something." She said thoughtfully. "We should eat a bit, then walk around the island to check for any other useful debris."

As they headed away from the beach, Neville looked a little uncomfortable being shirtless around her but before long the worry seemed to leave him, probably because she didn't comment on it and made a point to not look like she noticed.

"Want me to kill them with a stunner?" Hermione asked, as he pulled a crab out of his shirt.

"Nah, just as easy to do it by hand." He told her, picking up a small stick. She watched in surprise, as he quickly flipped the creature over and poked around a bit, before stabbing part of it and then doing the same for a second crab.

"Says the wizard that told me yesterday he was useless without a wand and needed me." She laughed. "You just caught and killed breakfast, no magic needed."

"Cooking I can do the muggle way…as well as a few other things. Gran taught me." He explained. "My magic didn't develop until after I got my Hogwarts letter…so before that she thought I might be a squib…" He trailed off with a shrug. "Pretty useful now though."

"Incendio." She whispered, waving her hand towards the fire pit.

"I couldn't cook them without you though." He pointed out.

"We'll work on that." She replied. She watched as he impaled the crabs on a larger stick and held them over the fire.

"Explain it to me." He asked.

"It's um…well to start with you need to be able to feel your magic. It'll be harder to teach you without a wand." She said carefully. "But not impossible. The basic principle is that a wizard doesn't _need_ a wand, the wand just helps focus the magic. It makes it easier and more exact. The most basic explanation for learning wandless magic is to perform the spell with your wand, then start to perform it with your wand but don't actually cast it. This helps you feel exactly how the magic travels through your body for the spell and then you try it without the wand. It requires a lot of concentration at first to learn to feel your magic. You need to learn to tune into it is all. Once you know how it feels then wandless magic is really all about intention more than anything. Harry can perform a lot of spells without saying them or thinking the words, he just tunes into his magic and thinks about what he wants to do and the magic does it. I like to be a bit more exact and still think of the specific spells."

"And how do I do that without a wand?" he asked.

"It'll be harder but not impossible. Has there ever been a time you've used accidental magic?"

"Twice." He nodded. "I brought up a shield around Luna and I at the ministry in fifth year by accident and then once on a case I performed some sort of stunning or disarming spell by accident, just as a nasty cutting hex was heading my way."

"So the important thing for you to remember is that you _can_ do magic without a wand." She told him.

"But I had my wand on me both times." He protested.

"Yes but if you didn't use it actively then your magic effectively cuts out the middle man." She explained. "When you're using your wand…are there any spells that you perform that you remember _feeling_ casting it?"

"I'm not sure." He replied. "What does it feel like?"

"Warm, sometimes it tingles. It's usually in the core of your body and spreads." She told him.

"I'll go sort these guys out and be right back." He said, standing and taking the cooked crabs and the bowl. She finished the last of the water while she was waiting and then spelled it full again. When he came back they sat quietly and ate the meat together.

Their walk around the island found some more string, a few more books, some clothes and a wooden crate.

"Are these yours?" Neville asked, as they hung the clothes over some branches to dry. Hermione had rinsed the salt water from them in the pool of fresh water so that they were slightly cleaner.

"Yes, from inside my bag." She told him, she flushed as she hung up a bra of hers.

"And these?" he asked, holding out a t-shirt and boy trousers.

"Oh…there's a few bits of Harry's and Ron's still mixed in with it, from when we were on the run I guess." She explained. "But hey, now you have a shirt." He flushed slightly at the reminder that he was still topless. "Sorry, I was joking."

"I know." He nodded. "It's just weird though, isn't it?"

"A bit." She agreed. "Still…I can't wait until these clothes are dry. Clean underwear, clean clothes! I would kill for a toothbrush or some soap and a razor or a hairbrush. God, any of those would be great."

"Well, fortunately by now the auror office knows there is a problem." He reminded her. "This time tomorrow they'll be on their way to find us."

"Thank goodness." She sighed. They sat on the beach for a while just talking before she brought up wandless magic again. "We should try and get you to learn some…in case something happens to me or my magic."

"Don't say that." He said. "That's ridiculous. Like we said, it's just a week. Less even."

"I know, but still, there's loads of bugs around biting us and rodents, one infected bite or cut and I could be too ill to use magic. It's something to pass the time anyway." She shrugged.

"Alright." He agreed.

"OK, so first let's try...here...use your hand, make your wand movements exactly as if you were going to cast incendio as these dried leaves." She suggested. "But then don't cast it. Just...try to feel where the magic flows"

He tried to do what she said, he felt a little embarrassed and on the spot but did it anyway.

"Did you feel it?" She asked.

"I don't think so..." He shrugged apologetically.

"Try again." She nodded.

He did and sure enough this time he felt something. He wasn't sure that it was what he was looking for but it was something.

Without her prompting him, he did it again another two times and sure enough he now felt it. Magic. His magic, moving inside of him waiting for a direction to go. Once he felt it he felt silly for not feeling it sooner, it was the same familiar tug he felt when he cast with his wand, he'd just always associated it with his wand before.

"You can feel it now can't you?" She asked with an excited smile.

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Good. Now this time take the wand movements out. Just point your hand outwards towards the leaves and when you feel the magic direct it down your arm." She explained.

"How do I direct it?" He asked.

"It's hard to explain. You just have to feel it and concentrate on where you want it to go." She replied sheepishly. "It's um...it gets easier when you get used to it."

He did as she instructed and was amazed to see a slight flash at the tips of his fingers. No fire though. He tried a few more times, sometimes a spark or flash appeared at his hand...other times nothing happened at all.

"Don't worry, we can try again later." She said, stopping him from trying again. "Want to laugh at me trying to stun a fish?"

"Let's do it." He agreed with a laugh. "They probably hide amongst rocks and plants...maybe if both of us are in the water, I can scare them and you can try to stun any that head your way?"

"Sounds like a plan." She grinned. They headed to the water, where Neville suddenly hesitated, his hands at his trousers. "This is silly isn't it?" She asked flushing. "It's not like we don't both have underwear...it's no different to being in swimwear really."

"Of course not, I mean it's not like we're looking or anything...I mean we're more worried about hunting down food than being half dressed right?" He agreed.

"Of course, I mean it's silly to keep getting our clothes wet when we can just...not." She nodded, before swiftly undoing and pushing her jeans down before she could chicken out. She pulled her top over her head and dropped it on the ground also, before quickly moving into the water with her shoes still on.

"If you get in over there maybe they'll come this way!" She called to him from where she stood hips deep in water.

Neville blinked and quickly pulled his trousers off. "Right" he muttered, heading to the spot she had pointed to and willing himself not to react to the half naked witch. "No big deal at all..."

Sure enough, moments after he splashed his way into the water, Hermione saw several fish scatter, some of which headed her way. She fired two stunners quickly and beamed when she realised that she had hit one.

"I got one!" She exclaimed in excitement, grabbing the fish from the water. Neville headed her way with a grin on his face.

"Well done Hermione." He cheered. "Now we have crab and fish for dinner."

"Um...I don't suppose you know how to gut and cook this too?" She asked, holding it out to him with her nose wrinkled.

"I know how...might be interesting without a knife though." He chuckled, taking it from her.

They stayed in a relatively good mood for the remainder of the afternoon. Neville managed to use some sharp sticks to gut the fish. He made a bit more of a mess of it than he would've liked but it was better than nothing.

"How are you going to cook it?" Hermione asked when he approached the firepit. "Want to try lighting the fire?"

"Um…no you should probably do it." He shrugged. "I have my hands sort of full anyway." She nodded, murmuring the spell and watching the fire ignite. She took the stick with two crabs impaled on it to hold into the fire. She watched as Neville placed some larger bits of wood into the fire careful, then found a flat rock and placed the fish on it before putting it on top of the wood in the fire. He snatched his hand quickly back from the flames with a hiss.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Fine." He replied, holding his hand up for her to see. "See?"

That night they ate slightly burnt fish and crab meat around the fire but were grateful for the fish providing a slight change of taste and texture.

As it grew darker Neville heard Hermione sniff from her spot next to him and looked at her more closely in the fading light. He saw that her eyes were brighter than usual and her cheeks were wet.

"Hermione…are you alright?" he asked.

' _Stupid question.'_ He mentally kicked himself. _'She's marooned on an island with no supplies and her friend is dead, of course she's not alright.'_

"I'm fine." She replied stiffly.

"You um…don't sound fine." He said carefully.

"What makes you say that?" she asked.

"Well…you're crying." He pointed out. "It's alright to be upset 'Mione." He watched as she bit her bottom lip for a few moments and then tried to take a few deeps breaths. "Hey, I've got you." He said pulling her into his arms. He hugged her tightly, as she lost the battle for control over her emotions and let out a loud sob.

"Some moments I almost forget…forget that this _isn't_ just sitting on the beach." She cried. "Olivia is _dead_! She's gone. I thought…I thought I was done losing friends."

"I know." He said solemnly, his hands rubbing her back reassuringly as she buried her face into his shirt. Or rather, Harry's shirt that was a little on the small side but at least was pretty clean.

"Haven't we already lost enough to last a lifetime?" she asked angrily.

"More than enough." He agreed, reaching for her cheeks and raising her face to look at him. "I'm sorry about your friend Hermione and I promise you, I will get you off of this island in one piece."

Looking up into his eyes, completely open and honest, her anger dissipated. She sobbed again and buried her face against his chest once more, wrapping her arms tightly around his middle as if it would keep her grounded.

"What are you-" she protested, as he shifted and picked her up into his arms. "Neville you don't have to carry me!"

"We're going to bed and you're going to get some rest." He replied, not releasing her or even addressing her protests. "You look after everyone, it's what you do. For once let someone look after you...even if all that is is someone to cry on."

He placed her carefully on the ground in their shelter and settled next to her, before pulling her to him again. Hermione felt a flush rise to her cheeks for a moment, at being so close to him in a "bed" situation but then reminded herself that she had slept beside Harry and Ron plenty of times before. She had even slept beside George a few times during the aftermath of the war. With Neville, it felt nice to have someone comforting her, to not have to be strong for at least a little while.

The last thing she remembered was clinging to Neville's chest, his arm wrapped protectively around her and feeling safe and warm.


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione sat on the rocks by the sea and just stared out at the water. This was the tenth time she had woken up on this island, if she included when she first woke washed up on the beach. A sinking feeling had begun in her gut. They had had a sort of routine in the past several days, eating mostly crabs with some fish; they had also found some purple berries that so far had proved safe to eat. They checked the shoreline daily for new items that had been washed up and Hermione was never more grateful than she was two days ago, when her wash bag washed up. The make-up was ruined from being waterlogged but the razors still seemed alright and she was so grateful for toothpaste and deodorant and soap. Still...that niggling feeling that had begun a few days ago was getting stronger and stronger.

"Something's wrong isn't it?" She asked as Neville came to sit quietly beside her. He didn't look at her, that was odd for Neville and more telling than anything. He was always open and honest.

"We don't know that." He said eventually.

"Tomorrow makes it a week since they should've started searching for us. They're aurors Neville...they should have found us by now." She protested, feeling tears beginning to prickle in her eyes and blinking them back. "If they had a tracking spell, how on earth could they have not found us?!"

"I don't know." He sighed. "I...it only took us three days to get here. You're right, they should've found us by now."

"What are we going to do?" She asked, shutting her eyes tightly.

"What can we do? We'll have to wait." He shrugged solemnly. "I'm...I don't know as much about doing things the muggle way as you do but...I don't think we stand a chance of making something strong enough to survive those waters without wands or at least tools."

"You're right." She agreed. "We're pretty firmly stuck here...I...I think we're going to have to make a bit more of a...long term shelter." She flinched away from using the word permanent. She wasn't a survival expert. If it weren't for the fact that she was a witch that could do wandless magic, she would probably be dead already or soon at least. As it was, she wasn't sure how long they would actually last if they had to stay here long term. How long could they last with limited food sources and supplies? Some stories she had read had people marooned for months and some even years. Still, how many of those were actually true? Also, each situation was different, they didn't seem to have any coconuts or bananas or other fruits to live off of; it was a small island with very little resources. She supposed she should be counting her blessings for her magic, how would she have lit a fire or caught food without it?

"We're going to have to start building a proper shelter, one with walls...I have a basic idea of how but it'll take some trial and error. Also, I think we should make a bed up off of the ground, it'll stop us getting quite so many insect bites." She told him. "I think today we should check for debris and food and then focus on gathering long leaves, vines or grass and some good long branches of wood. Then tomorrow we can start building."

They found very little debris that day, a few plastic bottles amongst heaps of rubbish. The amount of rubbish washing up on this tiny island made her feel ashamed at the human population for polluting the planet this much, but the plastic bottles were extremely useful for stocking up on clean water in case her magic failed later. In the warm, humid climate of the island they needed to drink plenty of water each day to stay hydrated. Seeing no fish around today, they settled on two small crabs and a few limpets that they had used sharp stones to pry off of the rocks around the shoreline. Hermione swore that once they left this island, she would never eat seafood again.

"So, what first leaves or branches?" Neville asked her.

"Branches, we don't want to gather a load of leaves and then have them blow away, it we gather branches first we can use them to weigh down the leaves overnight." She suggested.

"Right, how many do we need do you think?"

"Well, for the shelter, what we basically want to do is build three walls and a roof to start with. The three walls being the most important because we can always use the plastic sheet for the roof until we make one." She explained, as they began to wander into the trees. "Each panel needs four sticks around the edges and then maybe a couple in the middle to help weave in the leaves. The worst part is going to be trying to tie it all securely with very little string. We'll need to get creative."

"Then we'll get creative." He nodded. "Right, so a minimum of twelve decent branches to get started with then." They set to work determinedly, snapping thinner branches by hand, Neville had quite a lot of success in breaking whole long branches with his feet by stamping and jumping on them. A few Hermione sliced with magic.

"Oh this one is a good size." She commented, reaching up to try and break off a branch.

"That's a hibiscus, it's probably too soft for supporting a shelter." Neville shook his head, glancing at it thoughtfully. "Good for firewood though, and possibly..."

"Possibly what?" She asked keenly, excited that Neville's vast knowledge of plants extended far beyond magical ones.

"We might be able to use strips of it as string. I'm not sure...without an actual knife cutting and stripping might not work."

"Let's try it anyway, it could be brilliant." She said, swiftly slicing the branch and letting it fall. "Now for leaves and grass."

As they sat by the fire eating crab that evening as they did every day, she explained to him her ideas regarding the shelter, how she planned to form the panels...assuming it went correctly. Neither of them brought up the subject of not being rescued any time soon.

When they crawled into their makeshift bed that night Hermione reached her hand out to squeeze the wizard's next to her.

"I'm sorry about Theo." she said quietly.

"Thanks. I um...part of me is still stupidly hoping he'll turn up here like I did...but by this point..." He trailed off. The end of that sentence hung in the air between them unsaid, it didn't need to be.

"The selfish part of me wishes that we had just all apparated to safety, as soon as the boat got into trouble...while we still had our wands." She admitted. "But the other men...I couldn't live with myself if I'd have just left them there."

"I know." He croaked out. "Sometimes I think the same thing. It doesn't make you a bad person Hermione...you're just logically thinking that saving Olivia and Theo at the loss of two near strangers...is better than the loss of all four of them."

"And us being stuck in the middle of nowhere." She added, swallowing back any further tears. She had broken down last night, she didn't need to do it again tonight, it wouldn't help anyone.

She felt Neville squeeze her hand reassuringly but he didn't say anything. In silence they eventually found sleep.

The next day, Neville went out searching for food and making it. He also gathered the firewood and searched the beach for debris. His reasoning was that, those were thing he knew how to do, it gave Hermione more time working on the panels.

She hoped to save what little string they had for holding all of the panels together at the end. It took her several attempts to get the outline of one panel, which looked like a naughts and crosses board with borders around it. That seemed to be the way to get it the most stable. It took another two tries to get the panel secure enough to weave without it breaking apart. Then once she had one nice secure panel that she could weave, the weaving kept coming loose and falling out. It took until Neville returned at lunchtime with a few more plastic bottles from the shoreline and some mismatched flip flops for her to have completed one panel.

"The others will be quicker." Hermione said as they ate a handful of practically charred limpets for lunch. "We know what we're doing now. It should be much quicker."

"What can I do to help?" Neville asked.

"If you wouldn't mind going and fetching some more leaves and grass, I sort of underestimated how much we would need..." She said sheepishly. "By the time you get back I'll have finished the frame and then you can take over weaving that one, while I build another."

Sure enough, when he returned with arms full of weaving materials, Hermione sat and showed him how to weave it through to fill the panel. By the time it began to grow dark they have two completed panels and one frame.

"We need to get some food before it gets too dark." Neville said, taking the third panel from Hermione and placing it with the others. She agreed and they made their way to the beach in search of something to eat. Once more only finding a couple of small crabs, they had very little to eat that night. As they ate, Hermione noted that she was still hungry. A few mouthfuls would keep them going for now but it wasn't exactly filling. They needed more food.

"I think...if you're alright finishing that third panel tomorrow, I'd like to try making some sort of crab trap." She told him. "I'm not sure how well it'll work without any form of bait but it's worth a try if it means more food."

"What kind of trap would you make?"

"Um...sort of like a woven basket tried to a rock." She explained. "I'm not sure what size they're supposed to be or exactly what shape but it's worth a try. The crabs and other sea creatures like lobsters and crayfish crawl in and then you pull the trap out and grab them."

"Definitely can't hurt to try." He agreed.

"We'll also get the three panels for the shelter tied up and secure as soon as you've finished the last one tomorrow. It should provide us with a bit of protection around the sides."

"Let's hope so, it looks like it's going to rain tonight as it is." Neville mumbled.

"Hm...maybe..." She said glancing up at the sky. She had to admit that although it was dark, it was certainly cloudier up there than usual. "Maybe we should get an early night while we can, just in case the weather wakes us up."

That night as they settled onto their makeshift bed of materials that had been washed up over leaves to soften the ground, they found themselves closer than they usually were...at least while awake anyway. With each passing day they grew closer, being in close quarters with someone tended to break down barriers she supposed. She led on her side facing him and him on his back looking up at the plastic sheet above them.

"I'm not actually tired." She huffed, looking at him.

"How about...how about if you tell me about your parents?" He suggested. "Tell me all about your trip to Australia."

"I feel horrid about that actually." She admitted. "I didn't get in trouble for doing what I did, as it was deemed to be a reasonably justified act of mercy in a time of war. I explained that it was to keep me and Harry and my parents safe. I said it was also because it would spare my parents the knowledge that their daughter was out there fighting a deadly battle somewhere...or dead. They agreed however when we found them, the ministry took over. They replaced my parents memories but...instead of leaving me to explain why they took a trip to Australia and why I looked different, they made their own memories. My parents believe that they were worried for my safety but that they had gone to hide in Australia and that I was on a mission with Harry and Ron and didn't contact them for nearly a year. They believe I came back to them after the battle of Hogwarts and all was well. All things that never happened."

"So you feel like you should tell them the truth." He nodded, knowing exactly why she was upset. "The risks of trying to change their memories again are quite high, the ministry won't agree that it was a necessary action this time."

"I know." She sighed.

"I'd want to have had them know the truth too." He told her. "But now…it isn't worth telling them the truth because they will want their memories put back to normal…and you can't do that."

"So I can't tell them either can I?"

"I don't think so." He agreed. He saw her wipe away a stray tear out of the corner of his eye. "If _you_ decided you want to tell them the truth…then do it. They are your parents. I just don't want to see you in trouble or see you more upset because they want memories they can't have."

"No, I know you're right." She smiled weakly. He shifted slightly and stroked her arm reassuringly. "It's just one of those things, part of me wishes that I'd never done it…but our house was completely destroyed so-"

"You probably saved their lives. Trust me Hermione, having your parents as they are now is better than not having them at all." He told her.

"I know." She sniffed. "I'll always wonder though...whether it was the best choice. Maybe I should've found them myself and reversed the charm, before the ministry had any say in the matter. Still...now I have my mother asking me about men in my life constantly and my dad asking every detail about my work, even though he doesn't truly understand it. It's something I am glad to have. I wish the ministry could provide a magic cure for yours too."

"Maybe they will one day...I think that's the only comfort I can find in them. It seems like it would've been kinder just to let them die, instead of being there but not. My dad is completely gone I reckon...sometimes I like to think my mum at least understands what I'm saying, even if she's forgotten the lot of it by the time I see her next." Hermione wriggled closer against him and wrapped on arm around his stomach.

"Sometimes I can't believe how strong you are." She said softly.

"There's nothing else I can do. I can't change it and I can't not see them...they're my parents." He replied.

"They are you're parents but you've never known them properly, a lot of people would find it easier to just pretend they don't exist." She said firmly. "If we ever get off this island I'd like to meet them."

Neville swallowed, for a moment not really knowing what to say. People had offered sympathies to him before, more out of politeness than anything else, no one had ever offered to come with him...no one but his Gran of course.

"It's not really..."

"If you don't want me to I understand. It's a bit of a sensitive issue I'm sure." She said quickly, noticing his distress.

"No it's just...it's not a happy thing, no one's ever offered to come before, just me and Gran." He explained.

"They were incredibly brave, heroes even...I'd just like to meet them. I was with Bellatrix for just under an hour...I don't know if I could have held out until the end like they did." She whispered. "they'd be so proud of you Neville."

"That's all I ever wanted." He sighed. "Not that they'll ever be able to tell me either way."

They eventually found sleep huddled together in their shelter as rain started to fall lightly in the dark.

It took them three days to make their improved shelter. On the second day, they had managed to put together the panels and fasten them all properly to form sides. The third day, they spent the day making a larger panel to add as a slanted roof, covering it with the plastic sheet to protect it from the weather.

All in all Hermione was pretty proud of it. There were still things that needed doing but that night they had been glad to have it up, as rain hit them; thankfully not hard, though the wind certainly made it feel worse. They had ducked into their shelter for an early night, reading some of Hermione's rescued books until it became too dark to see.

Usually, Neville was the first to wake; she wasn't sure why but she seemed to sleep better here in a makeshift bed and shelter than back home. She didn't have nightmares as badly here. So waking up first was a surprise to her. She found herself still curled up against Neville, only now they were spooned together with his arm around her and hers over it to hold it there. She smiled; even though it was a bit embarrassing to be so intimate with him, it was nice to feel so safe and warm. It was nice to not feel alone. She had to wonder if they were like this often in the mornings when Neville woke up. He had never mentioned it but then again, she herself probably wouldn't have mentioned it either...after all they weren't doing anything and they could hardly blame themselves for seeking warmth and comfort while they were asleep. They hugged one another while awake and had even cuddled when going to sleep occasionally, so she rationalised that cuddling in the morning was no different.

Sighing and snuggling closer to him, she closed her eyes again and decided there really wasn't much reason to get up just yet. His arm tightened as she got settled and she smiled to herself. It was definitely nice to have a man to cuddle you in bed. She was just in the middle of deciding, that she needed to find time in her life to date when she got back home, when something interrupted her thoughts.

She flushed as she realised what it was. It was one of those startling moments that she had every now and then that reminded her that Neville Longbottom was in fact a man. Like when she saw him shirtless or back at work when he would do something startlingly heroic or brave. Having known him since he was eleven, it was easy to just see him and good old Neville most of the time.

' _Certainly not_ _eleven_ _now is he?_ ' she thought, with a slight chuckle to herself. Her body shaking obviously woke the wizard holding her as suddenly he leapt away from her.

"Oh Merlin Hermione, I'm sorry!" He exclaimed in horror. She turned to look at him as he turned bright red in embarrassment.

"It's really not a big deal." She assured him.

"You must think I'm such a-"

"Male?" She interrupted with a grin. "Seriously, it isn't a big deal. I've been made quite aware that such situations are common morning events for you guys. I lived with Harry and Ron in a tent for a year remember?"

"Yes but-"

"Unless you seriously think neither Harry nor Ron had an inconvenient erection for a whole year, I really don't see the difference. I'm not freaked out," she assured him. He looked at her disbelieving. "Surprised maybe...but I didn't leap away in horror did I?"

"No..." He replied slowly. "Sorry, normally you're still asleep. How long were you awake?"

"Not that long. I was going to get up and then I realised that there wasn't really anything to get up for and you were nice and warm so I stayed put." She admitted with a smile, she was relieved when he shyly smiled back. "I guess I should go wash and try to stun us some breakfast now though." She got up and left their little shelter and left him for a moment of privacy.

"You surprise me sometimes too you know." He said quietly to himself.


End file.
